# Bevercotes Colliery
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{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{Use British English|date=February 2023}}
{{Infobox mine
| name = Bevercotes Colliery
| image =
| width =
| caption =
| pushpin_map = United Kingdom Nottinghamshire
| pushpin_label = Bevercotes Colliery
| pushpin_map_caption = Location in Nottinghamshire
| coordinates = {{coord|53.258|N|0.961|W|region:GB|format=dms|display=inline,title}}
| place = Nottinghamshire
| subdivision_type = County council
| state/province = [Nottinghamshire](/source/Nottinghamshire)
| country = [England](/source/England)
| owner = [British Coal](/source/British_Coal)
| official website =
| acquisition year =
| stock_exchange =
| stock_code =
| products = Coal
| financial year =
| amount =
| opening year = 1965
| closing year = 1993
}}
'''Bevercotes Colliery''' was the first fully automated mine. It went into production in July 1965.[{{cite web|title=U.K: World's First Remotely Controlled Mine Opened at Retford, England -- Push-Button Colliery Will Produce 6,000 Tons of Coal a Day |url=http://www.itnsource.com/shotlist//RTV/1965/07/10/BGY505260570/?s=colliery|website=www.itnsource.com|publisher=ITN|accessdate=17 December 2016}}] Located in [Bevercotes](/source/Bevercotes) to the north of [Ollerton](/source/Ollerton), the colliery was, alongside [Cotgrave Colliery](/source/Cotgrave_Colliery), one of two new collieries opened in the county of [Nottinghamshire](/source/Nottinghamshire) in the 1960s.[{{cite web|title=The coal industry in Nottinghamshire > Overview|url=http://www.nottsheritagegateway.org.uk/themes/coal.htm|website=www.nottsheritagegateway.org.uk|publisher=Nottinghamshire Heritage Gateway|accessdate=17 December 2016}}] The colliery was closed in 1993 and turned into a [nature reserve](/source/nature_reserve).[{{cite web|last1=Edgar|first1=Gordon|title=Bevercotes Colliery|url=https://www.flickr.com/photos/12a_kingmoor_klickr/20909768390|website=Flickr|publisher=Flickr|accessdate=17 December 2016}}]
thumb|Bevercotes Colliery in 1988
The mine was served by a [single track, {{Convert|4.5|mi|abbr=on}} branch railway](/source/Lancashire%2C_Derbyshire_and_East_Coast_Railway) opened in June 1960.[{{Cite magazine |title=Colliery Branch Construction in Nottinghamshire |magazine=The Railway Magazine |volume=106 |issue=709 |date=May 1960 |pages=352-354}}]
==Miners' strike 1984-5==
During the [UK miners' strike (1984–85)](/source/UK_miners'_strike_(1984%E2%80%9385)), Bevercotes Colliery voted approximately two-to-one against strike action in a ballot held on 15–16 March 1984.[{{cite web|last1=David|first1=Amos|title=The Nottinghamshire miners, the Union of Democratic Mineworkers and the 1984-85 miners strike: scabs or scapegoats?|url=http://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/14091/1/575419.pdf|website=University of Nottingham repository|publisher=University of Nottingham|accessdate=19 December 2016}}] During the strike, Chris Butcher, a miner from Bevercotes Colliery, became well known as 'Silver Birch' who was funded by the '' [Daily Mail](/source/Daily_Mail)'' to travel around the UK actively opposing the strike; he was also involved in organising legal action to block the [National Union of Mineworkers](/source/National_Union_of_Mineworkers_(Great_Britain)) (NUM), who were running the strike.[{{cite web|last1=Maguire|first1=Kevin|title=No regrets from key players in dispute|url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2004/mar/01/uk.tradeunions|website=The Guardian|publisher=The Guardian|accessdate=17 December 2016|date=29 February 2004}}] In October 1985, Bevercotes miners voted to leave the NUM in favour of the [Union of Democratic Mineworkers](/source/Union_of_Democratic_Mineworkers) by 782 votes out of 1,372 cast (57%).